Show Reviews

I don't think there's any merit to the sentiment that songs are being repeated too much. Yes, no one enjoys seeing songs played two nights in a row, but it's always been like that. Always. Nothing new. Didn't I read somewhere that Phish has played more unique songs this year than any other year but one? And likely with the remainder of this run and NYE should set the record.

Standout versions of Wolfman's Brother and Ocelot in the first frame, amidst plenty of good vibes and high-energy tunes. Peaches? Sure, why not (though it's lost a step over the years, truth be told). Man, Wolfman's has been a guaranteed good time since Hampton, more intense and focused than in 2003-04 and (crucially) *distinct* in style from its late-90's form. Not that I'd mind a little red-hot 11/19/97 or 11/30/97 action from the Wolf Bro one of these days...

Second set is tremendous fun! Light is as good as you've heard, though I'll probably return more often to the blissful Gorge version; Tweezer is a high-energy guitar explosion straight out of 1995; Hood is fine; and Antelope shreds nicely. The highlight is the Light > etc. > Joy run, as you'd imagine. Yeah, Wading kicks off a little awkwardly, but so what? The boys love playing that song and it's a tearjerker (remember Coventry? SPAC '04? or even 7/2/97?!). And few bands are as fleet of foot as Phish - little errors are opportunities for these guys.

If you're wondering how this show compares to the previous two or three, the answer is 'The way to compare shows is to hear them and endeavour to love them all.' That said, the second set starts off powerfully, and lately you get the sense there's some powerful synthesis just beyond the horizon. We've had that sense all year, of course. It's getting stronger though. And the best moments of this show are very, very fine indeed.

I've gotta mainly agree with everything everyone said. Thought last night was a rocking time and can't wait for the next two nights. The guys felt a little nervous or apprehensive at first (imo), but really started rocking during Chaulkdust, and had real moments of brilliance scattered throughout the night. LOVED Peaches > Divided, and Hood sounded far more amazing then when I saw it earlier in the year. But, good lord...OCELOT SUCKS. I absolutely can't stand that song anymore, especially when it's a passion-less 10 minutes long.... That's a perfect example of a song that if sung by Jerry I probably would have loved....but.... sung by Trey and jammed for 10 minutes, that song sounds ridiculously forced, over-the-top bubbly and boring, and totally stupidohmygodstopplayingocelotitblows!

Light, which I have heard was initially part of the Time Turns Elastic composition, last night secured its spot in the special catalog of phish songs which the band is willing to "open-up" for some heavy exploratory jamming. It weaved carefully through numerous passages which provided a weclome dose of some edgy, dangerous phish sound. Cheers to the band for layering on a similarly exotic Tweezer shortly thereafter as a 'tip of the hat to one of their classic platforms for this type of free-form creation.

Great high energy openers followed by a funky wolfman's provided a great jumping off point for the band's triumphant return to MSG. I've been defending Ocelot as a personal favorite recently against the growls of some phriends, but I can't say I disagree with their assertion that the song is stretched somewhat. I personally like the whining guitar solo at its inception but dont think they should escalate it to an arena rock level as they seem to do relentlessly these days. Crowd uninvolved in brian & robert, poor heart lacked a trey solo but he nailed the final riff. Sample was broken when trey missed a chord, but they made up for it with a gift of Peaches en Regalia...hadn't been played in over a decade!

As a quick review, other than it was "loud." Light was the highlight of the night, imo. Great jam, nice and long, went a few different places, including definite hints of Timber Ho! for a few minutes. Peaches was certainly a treat. I enjoyed Ocelot, as it was nice and paced and took its time. Hood was good, Slave had standard prettiness. Need to listen to Tweezer again . . .Ã‚Â

Trey looked like he was having a blast all night, from Chalkdust on. Dancing and smiling and doing little leg moves. Eating it up (letting little grins sneak out as he was waiting during the Divided pause).

I should ass that the "transition" into Wading was really botched. Page seemed to lose his fingers and Trey was singing in the wrong key.

Good show, not great. Although nothing beats Phish in the Garden . . .

I'm no old-timer (probably my 20-25th show), but the boys were on last night. I knew Chalkdust would be one of the first two and that they'd try to keep the sets rocking the whole night, but I was afraid that they'd be in the middle of their stride and get muddled in a new song. That said, I think they've really begun figuring out how to incorporate the new ones into the setlists. I didn't like A Day In The Life the last time I saw it, but I definitely have a new appreciation for it as their closer. Both setlists started strong and ended strong and I've never heard a crowd so loud as I did on the tease during Divided Sky.

Definitely a great show, one of the hardest rocking I've seen, and they totally redeemed themselves for the last show I saw (Columbia, MD - the worst I've ever been to).

Additionally, I just knocked off a 4-year goal and qualified for the Boston Marathon by running Philadelphia on November 22nd. That morning as I walked to the starting line, I put my full 160gb iPod on shuffle and somehow, the first song to come up was a mammoth 22-minute Run Like An Antelope. I ditched the iPod at the start, but that song and memories of great times at those shows was all I needed to groove on for the next 3 hours. Needless to say, the end of the second set last night felt really special. I'm so thankful to have these guys back and to have this community of music fans.

This show was so rockin'. This was my second show (first one being the second night in Philly)and it blew me away! Peaches, Light and Harry Hood were definitely the highlights for me, but the whole show was stellar. One disappointment I had with this show was that I had already heard four of the songs performed in Philly a week earlier, but that is not taking anything away from the quality of the performance or my enjoyment. Probably the best show I've ever been to period.

the show was rock solid from beginning to end, and although the new "new songs" kind of suck, the old new songs don't suck quite as much as they used to (wolfman's brother, not sample). the band has actually gotten better with age (theirs or mine, don't know, hadn't been to a show before last night in 13 years). the jams were always phenomenal, but it’s even more effortless now and they end up weaving in and out of more micro-songs. seemed like there was a newfound passion and truer mastery, less playful and more intense. i think trey cemented himself in my mind with the best ever; page was actually slightly on the disappointing side at times (organ just sounded LOUD), but it all worked out. and the lyrics are funny in a different way now, kind of like the punch line instead of the joke.

the crowd was on the young side (definitely felt like an old-timer), and i was surprised by the realization that phish will be around for many more years to come: it’s just slightly different incarnations of the same thing as time passes (think phish in the 90s => the dead in the 70s, phish today => the dead in the 80s).

Trey is definitely much improved from summer tour. I remember at Hartford being a little frustrated that every jam just quickly went up to peak rocking wailing energy. They were only comfortable wailing it out.

Last night many of the best parts of jams were in the more medium energy section of the jams. Ocelot in particular, Trey was really sick towards the end. I've definitely seen better shows in my day, but I had a blast.

Nice average-great show, with glimpses of above-average jamming in Light. The second set is certainly stacked, and with the exception of my personal nemesis Ocelot in the first set that set is also chock-full. This isn't particularly a standout show for 2009 or for 3.0 as an whole, and with no legitimate -> segues it falls short in that regard as well, but you might want to check out the second set. 2009 is kind of a renaissance year for me, with clever adherence to the composed portions that couldn't be found in 2.0, but the jamming highlights are pretty clearly defined and this show is just another night along the journey to the heights scaled later in the Phishtorical era that could be found later in 3.0.

hahaha, murphish i couldnt agree more, occelot was my bathroom break, infact their was a rush to the bathroom, hahaha but other that that peaches>divided was nasty, slave>tweez kicked ass, overall the show was excellent, but not as good as 2nd night albany

THis was my 8th show and it was probably second best after new years eve 98. they rocked the place liked they owned it. the crowd was fantastic. all around great experience and their playing was just so tight. a note perfect CDT. Sample in a Jar was a great surprise, sparkle kicks ass, then suzy and antelope to finish the set. wowzers! ending os tweezer was initially disappointing until i figured out they were going to finish the night w/ Reprise. great way to end the evening on a high note and send us off in the pouring rain.

this was my fourth show so i really do not have a great frame of reference here, but outta my four shows this was my favorite. really enjoyed Tweezer and Antelope. Golgi is always fun. Tweezer reprise was just incredible with trey rocking out hard. All in all really like the show and wish i could be at the next two nights.

After 96 shows I FINALLY GET MY PEACHES!!! I've been struggling to get a peaches since 1994. Best part of the show was the incredible Peaches > Divided Sky. They ripped up Chalkdust and Wolfman's. Light > Slave was also a treat. Hopefully tonight, my 97th show, I'll get my MOUND!

Guess I'm just thinking about the few youngsters who "do tour." I can't imagine seeing the same songs over and over throughout the course of a longish tour. I understood when they announced the return that songs would be played "until they got it right" or something to that effect. But really? Are the songs in current rotation going to eventually be pared down to 20 or 30 selections, rote recital replacing the spontaneous manifest destiny setlist of yore?

Sorry this isn't a proper review but it's a feeling I've been having for a while now and curious if anyone else shares it.

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